Town Square

The unfiring of a Menlo Park police officer

Original post made
on Jun 4, 2013

Questions linger months after the Almanac broke the story about the arrest, firing and reinstatement of veteran Menlo Park police officer Jeffrey Vasquez: How, exactly, does a police officer keep his job after being caught naked with a prostitute in a Sunnyvale motel room? Now the public finally has some answers.

So Vasquez wasn't properly trained that visiting a prostitute while on paid duty time is morally, if not legally, wrong? Blame his parents? Police officer training can't be expected to rectify lack of morals.

This officer's misjudgment & behavior is disgusting & paying him $188,000 instead of just firing him is an insult to the community which pays PD salaries and to other honest officers who might commit such transgressions on their own, not City-paid, time.

Posted by Oh well
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Jun 4, 2013 at 8:39 pm

The Post previously published that Matt Bacon was the internal affairs officer sent to the scene. He's gone now. Commander Burt and Chief Roberts are both gone. The only two left at MPPD are Vasquez and his bro Detective Tim Brackett. After being busted is the hotel room with a hooker, Vasquez was escorted home by Detective Brackett, who received a promotion shortly there after, which is all on the public record.

Posted by Observer
a resident of Menlo Park: other
on Jun 5, 2013 at 5:38 am

I don't see it any differently than the case of the current Menlo Park City School District superintendent, Maurice Ghysels, sleeping with one of his principals at his former job in Mountain View, while they were both married to other people. There's just rot at the top, and they are used to getting away with things. We should just be grateful that all this talent is still employed at our expense.

Posted by Antoine Dodson
a resident of another community
on Jun 5, 2013 at 8:32 am

It's simple. Was this officer wrong? Absolutely. Would I have respect for him and his judgement or observations if pulled over by him? Likely not... However the law works the same for anyone else as the disciplinary process for government employees. For example: let's say you rob a bank, but the next day are stopped in your car with hookers, blow, loaded weapons, a mask and gloves, and the money. If you were stopped and searched unlawfully, guess what? The entire basis of the stop and the findings of the stop are completely thrown out the window. You can't be charged for any of what they find during that stop.

Everyone involved should be ashamed. Gee, do you suppose this is the case of "old boys club". Disgusting. Are our fine officers not taught to "keep it in your holster" while on duty? I thought prostitution was illegal, maybe he should have arrested her, instead of being "undercovers" with her. And to to paid for this, how lovely !!

Posted by Hmmm
a resident of another community
on Jun 5, 2013 at 11:58 am

Antoine Dodson is correct.

Vasquez is a good officer and I'm glad that the city's incompetence was revealed in this case. They screwed up worse than he did (pun intended), on several levels & got nailed for it (pun also intended).

Now, what's being done about the idiotic former & current City Managers who spoke about this in a bar?! Is Vasquez going to sue because his reputation is now ruined?

To "Mmmmmm",
Your definition of a "good officer" is different from most of us here.

It is not acceptable for a police offer to be committing illegal acts. They are supposed to set the gold standard for us to follow regarding adherence to the law (irrespective of what yours or his personal moral believes are of prostitution).

Unfortunately we appear to have a bunch of buffoons in the mayor's office who really mishandled this. That's a separate topic. But let's not let that make us loose sight of the fact that this officer is breaking the law by sleeping with hookers and is a disgrace to the badge he wears. A "good officer" would not break the law by his own admission on numerous occasions.

And his lawyer is playing word games when he says he "committed no crime". He may have not been convicted of the crimes, but by his own admission he committed them.

I would welcome a law suit from Vasquez on whether his reputation was ruined. That wouldn't be behind closed doors - so everyone could he him for what he really is. If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it probably is a duck.

Posted by disagree
a resident of Menlo Park: The Willows
on Jun 5, 2013 at 4:47 pm

While I agree that Vasquez could hardly be called a "good cop" I am not ready to blame the mayors office or those that investigated his misconduct for him escaping his just punishment. There was not enough information provided, not does it look like there ever will be, about what misconduct was done on the city side. Since binding arbitration does not have to follow the law it could just be the arbitrator was an idiot and did not like the way the city handled it even if it was done legally. Since we won't know I don't think we can leap to judgement against the city, at least for that. I do think the city needs to be more transparent on the topic of disciplinary actions in the police department and other areas. Between this case and the case of the fired gymnastics teacher we should all be asking what is going on and what is the city hiding from the people who elect them and pay all their salaries?

Posted by CrescentParkAnon.
a resident of another community
on Jun 5, 2013 at 5:58 pm

This really just makes me puke, and all the noise and chaff being thrown out there is even worse. What is wrong with all of our cities, has Tony Soprano taken over things or what? What can we do about it?

All a corrupt jerk has to do is to arrest someone knowingly not following the correct protocol and they both just shrug their shoulders and move on when the case gets tossed out - in every case the public just keeps getting screwed.

This was the jerk of a cop that gave me a fix it ticket for a break lamp that I had the replacement bulb in my car ... and on my birthday on El Camino back about 2 years. Good to know he's such a stickler for the law, and Menlo Park supports their criminal cops

Posted by Uncommon sense
a resident of another community
on Jun 6, 2013 at 7:24 am

Clinton didn't break the law. He did violate federal policy about relationships with subordinates. As an elected official, he could only be impeached, not fired, and there were not enough votes for that, which mainly fell along party lines.

Vasquez would not have been reinstated by an arbitrator had he been convicted of the crime he confessed to. That lack of conviction was obtained by a brother cop not bring able to show up to court (for months) to testify about his confession. It's all thin blue line stuff. Trying to get rid of this vile individual was the right move by the chief (who is ridiculed in the Sean Howell article) and city manager.

Posted by Bob
a resident of Menlo Park: Downtown
on Jun 6, 2013 at 8:22 am

This whole situation has stink on it. There's plenty of blame to go around. While Vasquez may get his job back, he would do well to move on from MP. The city should look to eliminate binding arbitration. Discipline should be handled by the city not an arbitrator.

Posted by Uncommon sense
a resident of another community
on Jun 6, 2013 at 8:47 am

I had asked the Almanac, back in another thread, to issue public records requests on the Sunnyvale officers' time records to determine whether he was truly unavailable.

By the way, the one point not being made here is: why is arbitration better for the cop than the court system in matters of discipline?

It's a question that the Almanac article did not answer. Let me attempt to.

Arbitrators are paid (handsomely) for the time they spend adjudicating a case. They also need to be agreed upon by both parties to the dispute in most cases (if the parties ultimately cannot agree, the arbitrator winds up getting appointed by the arbitration association).

Does it make sense that an arbitrator who wants to keep getting selected by police unions and police lawyers, to make money in police disciplinary cases, wants to make decisions that cut the cops' way most times?

In Menlo Park, the arbitrator is not appointed by any association if the two parties cannot agree. Instead the state supplies a list of five arbitrators and each side takes turns eliminating names until one remains.

Posted by Uncommon sense
a resident of another community
on Jun 7, 2013 at 7:39 am

For whatever it is worth, I believe Clinton should have been convicted of the impeachment, But, it would have been very difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he lied under oath since  if I remember correctly  his denial of sex, he claims, was based on a definition of intercourse.

Prostitution and soliciting prostitution are crimes. Maybe you don't think they should be, but they are. An on-duty police officer committing a crime should be fired. I'm not sure why there should be any controversy over that idea.

This definitely needs to be investigated further. He broke the law, fire him. A disgusting cover-up by his buddies. Oh, be sure to get time spent with prostitutes, while on duty, paid back to Menlo Park. So, figure it out and deduct from the $188,000.00. You have not heard the end of this. This MUST be investgated by an outside party, like one of the local TV stations. Or, fire him for illegal behavior, and pay back money. HE MUST RESPECT THE LAW.

why are they letting this officer get by with breaking the law is beyond me.i&to give him back pay just shows you who the law are for, I know him personally [portion deleted] he will go defend himself look good for the judge&he goes back doing whatever! what can you say but that whole department needs to be under investigation

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